Inspire Kids to Read by Hanging Them

My son is terrified of needles.
           And swarms of bees.
                         And sour cream.

But I am not exaggerating when I say nothing makes that boy of mine run faster than presenting him with a book that he needs to read.

You see this is a problem.

I am a homeschool mom.
My sons must read.
It says so right in the homeschool Bible.

How can I successfully homeschool if my boy don’t read and rite? (wink)

All four of our older boys learned to read. So I was determined to trick my youngest bugger into reading too.

I reached deep into my homeschool bag of tricks and pulled out the one labeled “hang ’em”.

Ok, not with a rope… with a book!

I love to keep kids hanging in a story.
Actually, I have found that this s the true secret to kindling a desire for reading.

Here’s the recipe for hanging a kid:

Get cozy.

Read aloud (regardless of the age of your kids).

Read with enthusiasm and creative voices.

Climb to an exciting point in the story…
…and close the book.

works.
every.
time.

The boy in the hammock was caught and couldn’t put the story down once hooked.

Forget that he hates needles.

Laugh at the bees.

Enjoy an extra large scoop of sour cream on that burrito.
The boy is reading!

Some recent Leave them hanging stories:

The Redwall Series by Brian Jacques.
The Great Brain Series by John Fitzgerald.
Eragon by Christopher Paolini

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Bonus
My boys have taken up the habit of reading to each other as well.
It warms my heart to hear a big brother reading to a younger brother.

Better than that is when an older brother leaves them hanging in a story like I do.

Priceless!

Have your kids read the Redwall series or The Great Brain? They are perfect “leave ’em hanging stories”!